Elilai Restaurant Changes Ownership

The elegant dining restaurant located on the hill in Ngerkebesang overlooking Koror and named after Palau’s flower, website like this Elilai, has been taken over by a successful local businessman, Jeff Barabe, also the owner of OTV. Mr. Barabe’s father is the CEO of a food company in Miami, Florida, making this new venture a likely match.

Elilai was first opened in 2007 by a Japanese furniture designer, Takauya Mizokami. Mr. Mizokami moved back to Japan and recently resigned all of his interest in the Elilai Restaurant. Mr. Barabe saw an opportunity to make Elilai the first world class dining experience in Micronesia and stepped up to the challenge.

Elilai serves international cuisine in a stunning atmosphere. According to Mr. Barabe, Elilai will continue to cater to high-end tourists bringing them the finest food, service and view in Palau. Jeff Barabe is inspired by his former boss, Robert DeNiro, who founded the the award winning restaurant Tribeca Grill in NY and will be using some of the same successful techniques to appeal to high end tourists..

In the coming months, Mr. Barabe will focus on updating the menu with new choices both for dining and drinks. He explained: “It is our goal to make the entire dining experience worthy of the spectacular view Palau offers. We will be adding new items to the menu, expanding our drink list with new wines and new signature cocktails, and making improvements to the overall ambiance.” He intends to make Elilai the place you want to bring your guests to showcase the best of Palau. He will be training the current staff and hiring additional staff to meet the high demands of a world-class restaurant. Locals will be given hiring preference while local diners receive a %15 discount.

Mr. Barabe will also continue to operate Roll’em Productions and Oceania Television Network (OTV) as it expands in the region. Barabe’s wife, Kassi Berg, also recently started a new local business, partnering with attorney Larry Goddard, to create The Pacific Development Law Group.